Susan Granger’s review of “Herbie Fully Loaded” (Disney)
Back in 1968, there was “The Love Bug.” Now, that beloved classic VW Beetle has been overhauled and updated, given a contemporary family and legions of fresh, juvenile fans. Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan) is the daughter of racing team owner Ray Peyton (Michael Keaton). Her family has been involved with NASCAR for three generations but her brother, Ray Jr. (Breckin Meyer) just hasn’t measured up on the track. As a college graduation gift, Maggie goes to a junkyard to select an old car to fix up and use for errands. For $75, she acquires Herbie, who immediately steers her to a repair shop, where Kevin (Justin Long), an amiable mechanic, recognizes the car’s potential. Refurbished and revived, resilient Herbie then drives Maggie into the middle of a racing challenge with arrogant, egotistical Trip Murphy (Matt Dillon), where the shiny, sleek bug proves his feisty superiority. And so the underdog, checkered-flag plot unfolds. Director Angela Robinson (“D.E.B.S.”) – with the help of four credited screenwriters – realizes that Herbie is the star and driving force; thanks to Disney digital effects and split screens, he doesn’t disappoint. Humble Herbie, who has a mind of his own, wears a smile on his front bumper, his headlights wink and his doors forcefully nudge when necessary. Looking far healthier than her newly blonded, anorexic tabloid persona, teen queen Lindsay Lohan is appropriately exuberant, while the rest of the cast performs as pleasantly as the script dictates. And an astounding amount of product placement is musically punctuated by rock standards. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Herbie Fully Loaded” zooms in with an amusing, sweet 7, providing a new generation of children with lots of fun watching this anthropomorphic auto.
